In the days when the monsoon is coming, in the house of Ms. Nguyen Thuy Linh (32 years old, Luong Van Tri ward, Lang Son province), the story of keeping her 3-year-old son warm has become an endless topic of debate between her and her mother-in-law.
At six o'clock in the morning, when the fog was still faint on the porch, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hoa Tham (62 years old) carefully prepared for her grandchild to go to class. Sweaters, cotton coats, and coats were put on top of each other. Before putting on her shoes, she did not forget to bring her grandchild... four pairs of socks.
When children are cold, they easily get sick, in the old days, my grandmother took care of father and children with the aunts and uncles, they didn't have any books, but they grew up healthy," Mrs. Tham said, with a firm voice.
But the child's small feet were swollen because there were too many layers of socks, unable to fit the shoes. While she was still struggling, sweat was already dripping on her child's forehead.
Witnessing that scene, Ms. Linh gently took off some clothes for her child, wiped off the sweat and then replaced it with a neater set of clothes. She believes that children exercise too much, if they wear too thick, they will have shortness of breath, sweat, and are even more susceptible to illness when encountering cold winds. "The doctor instructed, keeping warm is enough warm, not as many clothes as possible," she said.
For her, keeping her child warm is also keeping the room temperature stable, eating enough nutrients, drinking warm water, not just lying in the number of layers of clothes.
However, every time she just turned away, the grandmother quietly puts on more clothes for her grandchild. The atmosphere in the house is therefore becoming more and more tense.
Many times I see that her views are somewhat old, but arguing backwards loses the harmony between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law," Ms. Linh shared.
Between the two women is a 3-year-old boy bewildered, sometimes sweating profusely, sometimes sobbing because of discomfort. The children's reactions have caused conflicts in Ms. Linh's family to peak many times.
In fact, this is not a rare story in families of many generations every winter. One side is the life experience of grandparents, who have experienced years of deprivation. The other side is young parents, accessing medical knowledge and modern care methods. The common point of both is still the worry about sick children and love for children.
According to medical experts, cold, humid, and erratic winters make young children prone to respiratory diseases such as rhinitis, bronchitis, pneumonia. In particular, children under 12 months old are at higher risk due to incomplete immune systems.
Many children, despite being well-protected, still often get minor illnesses, partly due to common mistakes in care.
Experts say that excessive warming makes children sweat, sweat cannot escape, seeps back into clothes, making children easily catch cold again. Children's skin is also prone to congestion, inflammation, and itching.
In addition, using charcoal and firewood stoves to heat in a closed room poses a risk of CO poisoning, fire and explosion, especially dangerous for young children. Bathing children with too hot water can also cause dry, cracked, and itchy skin; the bathing time should only last from 5-7 minutes.
Keeping children warm, sometimes it's not just about wearing many layers of clothes, but also keeping the understanding between people in the same house warm," Ms. Linh added, after patiently explaining to her mother-in-law to understand more.
